The concern I have with reading this is the fatigue that some of these skaters have. Whilst they may not admit it, constant fatigue is a real safety issue. Particularly if are the guy in a pairs or dance team lifting the girl. It only takes one mistake and a serious accident could happen. On the other hand even just driving to the rink is a risk in itself.

I can definitely understand where fatigue would be a concern... but I think overall these athletes are probably physically/mentally okay working these hours because it continues the lifestyle they've always known as a student/athlete in their teens.

Many (perhaps a majority) of elite athletes live the life style of a stereotypical American "over achiever"/"high achiever" student... so working 30 or more hours a week just replaces the time they may have spent on high school. Especially if they're able to work two full days on the weekends, that leaves only about 14-16 hours spread across Mon-Fri. Not bad at all.

Now for those that are working 30+ hours a week, attending college part-time and skating... that's pushing it for most people to balance. Those attending college full-time, working those hours and skating? But, most athletes don't make it to this level by lacking a significant work ethic, drive, and dedication to all aspects of their life.

Several pair guys in Boston work part time - Tyler Harris is a shift manager at Starbucks; Simon Schnapir is also a barista there; and Andrew Speroff is employed at a work out facility. These guys work hard and are willing to do what it takes!

I have great admiration for skaters who continue their education while competing at an elite level, but I also respect the skaters who work long hours (often at muliptle jobs) to help support their skating. The focus and commitment these young people deserve some

Several pair guys in Boston work part time - Tyler Harris is a shift manager at Starbucks; Simon Schnapir is also a barista there; and Andrew Speroff is employed at a work out facility. These guys work hard and are willing to do what it takes!

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Andrew Speroff previously worked as a lifeguard at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs (yes, even Michael Phelps has a lifeguard on duty). That job included mandatory workout time at the OTC (haha!). Other non-skating-related jobs that pair skaters have held include fast food chef, arena security guard at major sporting events and concerts, community college computer lab staff, Best Buy geek squad, theater production assistant, disc jockey, Home Depot employee, fitness instructor, waitress and bartender. Jobs related to skating include skate instruction, skate rental, zamboni driver, skate sharpener, music production, costume making, pair/dance testing partner, paid ice show appearances, etc. Skaters are pretty creative about earning money and they often do a lot of part-time paid activities.

My work-study jobs were no more cushy than other office and food service work I've done and the expectations were higher. The only thing that was cushy were the flexible hours, especially around finals time.

I had great bosses, though, who trained me for real life jobs. I never knew they were supposed to be cushy.

Work-study tends to be non-manual labor, and not intellectually demanding work. Also, it's generally paid twice the normal salary so a student can earn a lot more working far fewer hours. I don't know what people consider cushy, so I wouldn't use that term. But for the amount and type of work put in, the money is far in excess of normal pay scales for that work.

I never made more than minimum wage. The university paid a fraction -- I think 25% -- and the Federal government paid the rest. There was a limit to the number of hours, but I'm not sure if that was a Federal or university limit, since it was part of many financial aid packages.

I understand that Coughlin's job isn't as physically demanding as restaurant work, and the hours aren't as crazy, but most office or restaurant work isn't intellectually demanding, and I don't think there's any evidence that Coughlin is sitting eating bon bons and being paid the play video games (not your implication.) I wish there were as many office jobs with reasonable hours like that as elite athletes want.

you were only allowed to work a certain number of hours. I would have loved to work more hours and made more money.

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Work study is always time restricted because it's basically a federal grant, and therefore has a set ceiling in the amount awarded per student.

Of course you can work more hours than that--it just won't be a work-study job (ie, not federally subsidized).

There's really no benefit to a student taking a minimum wage work-study job because you would be working the same number of hours as in a non-work-study job. The whole point of work-study is to allow the student to earn a maximum amount of pay with minimal time investment so as not to distract from studies. That's why I never heard of any student working for minimum wage on work-study, nor ever saw any job advertised as work-study offering only minimum wage. And yes, I also worked work-study jobs throughout my undergraduate career.

As a skater who works full time, I can tell you that the fatigue does get to the point of exhaustion sooner rather than later. I skate 5 days a week and work 5 days a week. I manage a pro shop in my rink, it's not terribly tough but it's hard work all the same at points. The hardest thing I've found is that my skating days and my days off overlap. I have Mondays and Wednesdays off which means I skate twice as many sessions as I do the rest of the week and I work every weekend. My bosses are great for allowing me time off for competitions etc but I still have responsibilities that sometimes have to come before my training. I get to about 6-8 weeks before I have to force myself to take a full day off to rest because I get to the point where my training is suffering because I'm so tired.

I'm not complaining, I like to keep busy, I just thought I'd share my story on how I have to fund my training

As a skater who works full time, I can tell you that the fatigue does get to the point of exhaustion sooner rather than later. I skate 5 days a week and work 5 days a week. I manage a pro shop in my rink, it's not terribly tough but it's hard work all the same at points. The hardest thing I've found is that my skating days and my days off overlap. I have Mondays and Wednesdays off which means I skate twice as many sessions as I do the rest of the week and I work every weekend. My bosses are great for allowing me time off for competitions etc but I still have responsibilities that sometimes have to come before my training. I get to about 6-8 weeks before I have to force myself to take a full day off to rest because I get to the point where my training is suffering because I'm so tired.

I'm not complaining, I like to keep busy, I just thought I'd share my story on how I have to fund my training

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I just admire your work-ethic, dedication, and passion for the sport and your life.

I hope there are many bright futures with skaters struggling around the world.

There's really no benefit to a student taking a minimum wage work-study job because you would be working the same number of hours as in a non-work-study job.

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I had a minimum wage work study job. The benefit was that it was on campus. It wasn't full time so I would work 4 hours between classes. I would have never been able to get off campus to work and back again (which is why a lot of skaters work at rinks, where they probably make less than they would waiting tables). After spending the first two years of school on campus twiddling my thumbs I realized I would be better off if I did something with that time.

I also had an off campus job with Princeton Review and it paid 6x the amount of the work-study job, but it wasn't possible to get more than maybe 12 hours a week.

There's really no benefit to a student taking a minimum wage work-study job because you would be working the same number of hours as in a non-work-study job.

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The benefit of work study is being able to exclude the money earned from the work study job from the AGI in the federal formula for financial aid. As I always tell our students, if they get a job working at someplace like Target the feds expect/apply a portion of those earning toward the estimated family contribution. For the on-campus FWS jobs, that money does not get counted against them.

The whole point of work-study is to allow the student to earn a maximum amount of pay with minimal time investment so as not to distract from studies.

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FWS guidelines limit amount of work hours to provide for employment experience while still allowing time in a student's schedule for class and study time. In the nearly 20 years of experience I have in student financial aid, I have never heard the limit of hours being connected to maximize student income. In my area, almost all schools pay FWS students minimum wage (unless the job is approved for a higher wage rate). With many schools under increasing budget shortfalls, many do not have a choice to be able to pay more. I am sure it is just one of those things which may vary from institution to institution.